The Bloodiest Path
by Starlit Muse
Summary: He'd always thought that if something happened to him, nobody would care. If he left, nobody would miss him. If he changed, nobody would notice. And in a world of lies and bloodshed, it seemed he had always been right. -planning stage-


**A/N**: Herro~! I've had this idea stuck in my head for a little bit and I really like it. Hopefully this will turn out as well as I'd like it to 3! This first chapter is just mostly an introduction of Roxas' mindset (main character) and the bond between he and Sora. I'm sure this is a very typical way to set off a story, let alone a fairly common back story for these two. I apologize in advance ^-^;. This is how the story came to mind, and unless I see fit, that is how it will stay.  
**Disclaimer**: I do not own, nor do I claim to own, organization xiii. Most of these characters are copyrighted to Tetsuya Nomura, Square Enix and Disney. I own only the victims and this idea, though I'm sure it's been done before.  
**Summary**: He'd always thought that if something happened to him, nobody would care. If he left, nobody would miss him. If he changed, nobody would notice. And in a world of lies and bloodshed, it seemed he had always been right.

**The Bloodiest Path  
**I. _Nobody Cares_

If something happened to him, nobody would care.

His mom and dad had sent him and his brother off without a second thought, off to live with some strange old man they'd been told was some relative. The two people he'd thought were supposed to love you and care for you, and _keep _you in their lives no matter what had been so quick to drop them off on another's doorstep and drive off into the night.

The old man had seemed so concerned and surprised to see them on his doorstep. His wrinkled, careful hands had beckoned them inside, out of the cold late-night air. His elderly eyes had widened in time with his brother's explanation of their situation. His strong voice had reached them on the second floor when they'd been sent off to get some rest, talking to the answering machine their parents would never again listen to. With empty bellies, they were expected to sleep in a strange house and a strange bed.

As soon as he heard his brother's sleepy mumbling, he crawled out from under the covers and headed for the door. He crept across the landing, pausing only momentarily to listen for the old man's snores in the room across the hall. He came to the head of the stairs, passed a resolute glance back to the room the snores came from and decided.

Nobody would miss him.

He slunk down the staircase, wincing as every footstep creaked. When he made ground level he waited for another moment before bolting to the door, his bare feet smacking loudly against the wooden floor. He flung the giant hunk of wood open and ran.

_Nobody at all…_

--

In his frustration he'd run as long as his body would let him, and with his seven-year-old stature he'd easily gotten lost in a small wooded area. He must have tripped over every upturned root and every fallen branch on the way out. His knees were bruised, trickles of blood had run and dried from superficial scrapes. His feet were mostly numb to the bite of the cold and his hands were cut up from falling so many times.

He stumbled out of the tree coverage to squint up into a lightening sky. He caught his foot on the edge of an asphalt road and fell hard on his knee again. The small boy cried out, forcing himself to stand again and favoring his left side. He peered up the drive and at the site of a brown building visible a ways off, took off for it at a much slower pace than he'd been at all night.

Within the maze of buildings and people dotting the road at such an early hour, he felt both at ease and fearful. He was alone; completely alone. It was a totally foreign feeling and a frightening concept. He'd always had his twin at his side. Whenever one cried, they both cried; when one was lost, they were both lost. But here he was with no Sora at his side.

Uneasy with the feel of eyes on him, the child ducked into an alley just before his legs finally gave out on him. He dropped to the concrete unceremoniously, pulling his legs up into his chest and wrapping his arms tightly around them. A shaky sob escaped as he stared blankly at the wall before him. His head hung, shielding him from the world as he tried to keep the tears at bay.

He didn't like being alone. It scared him.

--

He felt the familiar feeling of a small hand on his head, softly running through the mess of blond. Contentedness settled over him like the warmth of a fire. Sora had found him, like always. He was no longer by himself. They could be lost together like always. The hand moved slightly, ruffling up more spikes. Finally he let the tears fall. A few sobs racked his tiny form, leaving him shaking again.

As quickly as they had come, those comforting fingers left him. The blond lifted his head from the crook of his arm and wiped the sleep and tears from his eyes, forgetting that he'd fallen asleep. He immediately looked around for his twin, only to spot a flash of red turning the corner and a kid about his age with silver hair looking after it curiously.

Aqua eyes turned just as curiously over him after a moment and their owner steadily approached. This strange boy frowned. "What are you doing sitting here?" he asked in a less-than-hostile way, putting the injured boy slightly at ease again.

"I'm lost…" he croaked, voice still heavy with sleep and crying.

The newcomer thought for a second and shook his head. "No. I know where you are. You're in Hollow Bastion," he stated matter-of-factly.

"I mean _I_ don't know how to get home… I got lost in the forest and-" A snigger cut him off.

"A _forest_? What forest? That thing?" He jabbed his thumb over his shoulder in the direction the sitting boy had stumbled in from. A nod came in response and he laughed again. "That's hardly a forest. It's so tiny! I know it like the back of my hand," he bragged, crossing his hands over his chest.

The blond brightened up, eyeing him like he had two heads. "My… grandpa live somewhere past it… C-could you… help me find his house?" he shifted uncomfortably, not one to ask for help under normal circumstances.

"No. I don't even know you," the silverette rolled his eyes and turned to go back to the main street.

The twin raised a hand after him, scared he might lose his chance, then dropped it and stood up. Or at least tried to, though his ankle and knee stung like no other. He hissed at the pain and winced, glaring with royal blue eyes at the other's back. "Yeah right… like _you_ could, anyway…" he accused, limping a little as he took a few steps toward the mouth of the alleyway.

Aqua eyes glared metaphorical daggers at him from a sheet of that pale hair. "I could too! I just have better things to do!" he growled.

"Sure you could. You just know you couldn't actually find a house through the forest and _you'd_ just get lost like _I_ did."

"Don't compare me to yourself! I play in the woods every day! I could find my way out blindfolded!"

"Prove it." It was a dare.

They glared at each other for a few more seconds until the silverette gave an exasperated sigh. "I will. I'll have you in and out in ten minutes flat." He eyed the blonde's awkward shuffling and offered up a hand after a moment of deliberation.

"I'm Riku, by the way."

"Roxas. Thanks…"

Riku pulled the battered boy along behind him, leading the way back through town the short distance Roxas had managed to intrude before his body gave up on him that morning. From the corner of his eye he saw that same flash of red and, looking over his shoulder, he saw a taller boy maybe four years older than him watching him with bright green eyes. When the other looked away, he turned his gaze back to Riku and followed him to the best of his ability, wincing and hobbling every few steps.

--

Back in the tree cover, Roxas' spirits were dampened by the worsened 'road' conditions. He struggled to keep up with the other so much that in the end, Riku just decided to carry him on his back. Both of them being about the same size, the steep slopes were a little awkward to climb, but they managed without any further injury.

"See? There's a street of houses just up her-" the silverette began, a quiet sniffling making him trail off. Both boys listened and looked off to the right. There was a cluster of trees and it sounded like somebody was crying in them.

"He-hello?"

The sounds ceased instantly and they heard somebody scrambling to stand. "Roxas?"

Roxas squirmed a little and got down from his guide's back, limping toward the voice. "Sora?!" he asked excitedly, a smile tugging at his lips. A spiky brown head poked out from the cluster and Roxas jumped on him in his excitement. "Sora!!"

They lay in the fallen leaves, hugging and crying for lack of words. "Roxas! I woke up and you were gone and I didn't know where you were!" the brunette exclaimed between sobs, blue eyes glistening when he finally pushed his brother off.

"I was scared!" they spoke in unison, Riku watching them curiously.

"I'm sorry, Sora. I'm never doing that again. I was really mad because of mom and dad ditching us with Grandpa and I thought nobody would miss me if I left," Roxas sniffled, wiping the trail of tears away from his eyes.

Sora frowned at him and crossed his arms over his chest. "Well, I guess I'm nobody, then."

The twins stayed like that for a few more seconds before they both cracked up. It was then that Sora noticed their unintended guest. Aqua met blue for an instant before Riku took a few steps closer. "Who are you?" the brunette asked innocently, looking up at him.

"I'm Riku."

"Hi Riku. I'm Sora. Why were you with my brother?"

"I was showing him the way to the houses up here, he got lost, apparently," he sniffed.

"Oh. Well, you think you could show me too? I got lost and I tripped and… I think I broke my ankle… It hurt really bad for the first hour, but now I don't feel it at all."

The group collectively looked down to Sora's ankle: covered in mud and what appeared to be blood. "Danger prone," Roxas accused, forcing himself up to his feet and straightening out his shorts. "I was wondering why my ankle hurt…" the pair of them found that the whole 'twin telepathy' thing wasn't necessarily true, but the 'my twin got hurt and now I feel it' thing was most definitely true.

"Uh Riku… Would you mind carrying Sora up? He needs it more than I do. I can keep up on my own."

"…I guess I could. But you two owe me... I have a problem."

--

At the top of the hill and the edge of the 'forest', they were found by a policeman and lead back to the twins' grandpa's house. The elderly man ran to them, picking up Sora from Riku's back and examining his leg worriedly. Sora laughed it off like it was nothing but five minutes later they were all piled into the old man's car.

"Who is this?"

The twins looked at each other and smiled, leaning toward their newly found grandpa. "This is our friend Riku. He needs a place to stay for… a while," Sora explained cheerily.

Roxas nodded enthusiastically, pulling out the charm. "We were wondering if he might be able to stay here with us for a while…?"

**A/N**: Nyeh… I'm not sure how I feel about that. I'll probably be editing it, but I wanted to get a pilot chapter out there. Let me know if there's anything I can change to make it better and all that fun stuff, review if you liked it, review if you hated it, ^^;. Either way.


End file.
